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The woman who paid down $120K in credit card debt in five years

Francine Bostick racked up six figures in debt before deciding it had to go. Here's how she did it. 

Francine Bostick keeps her monthly bills in a basket on her desk at home. Also in that basket is a clear plastic sandwich bag containing 13 cut-up聽credit cards聽鈥� a reminder (and a warning) of the decades she spent racking up $120,000 in聽credit card聽debt.

She cut up those cards only five years ago. Today, she鈥檚 debt-free with a modest savings account.

鈥淚 have to look at that bag all the time,鈥� says Francine, a custodial manager for a Kansas university. 鈥淚 see it every time I pay my bills.鈥�

That sandwich bag was just one of the tactics 鈥� big and small 鈥� that Francine used to pay off her six-figure debt. The biggest was swallowing her pride, admitting she had a problem, and seeking credit counseling. For her accomplishment, she and her husband were honored this month as 鈥淐lients of the Year鈥� by the nonprofit National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC).

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Two weeks ago, Francine flew on an airplane for the first time in her life and accepted the award at an annual convention of credit counselors in Charlotte, N.C. Her husband didn鈥檛 make the trip.

Francine was afraid to fly, but that was nothing compared to the fear of seeking credit counseling.

鈥淚t took me a year before I could walk in there,鈥� Francine says of the Topeka-based credit counseling agency she worked with. She was 57 at the time, 鈥渁nd it was very hard. I was embarrassed that at my age, I didn鈥檛 know better than to get in debt.鈥�

But with a little help, she figured out a way to get out. Her story is both motivational and educational for anyone crushed under credit card debt.

Here鈥檚 what she told Money Talks News last week鈥�

Going broke isn鈥檛 always obvious

Francine and her husband, Jim, didn鈥檛 look like they were in debt. They had no fancy cars or fancy clothes. They鈥檝e never owned a flat-screen TV or the latest smartphones. Neither was laid off or faced a medical problem before Jim鈥檚 dementia. And they suffered no addictions to alcohol, drugs, gambling, or even shopping.

鈥淚 really can鈥檛 point at one thing,鈥� Francine recalls. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 realize we were spending $400 a month on groceries. If we wanted something, we just bought it. If it cost $200, we didn鈥檛 think about whether it should cost $50.鈥�

So the Bosticks went boringly broke. With none of the typical warning signs 鈥� a mansion, Porsche or exotic vacations 鈥� their debt grew steadily and quietly. It was so unnoticeable to family, friends, and even themselves (at first) that Francine describes it now as 鈥渆asy.鈥�

Older isn鈥檛 always wiser

Francine, now 62, is careful not to blame anyone else for her financial faults, but she says her parents didn鈥檛 help 鈥� because they were聽too听迟丑谤颈蹿迟测.

鈥淢y mother never had a charge card, so I wasn鈥檛 raised knowing about credit,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f she didn鈥檛 have cash, she didn鈥檛 buy it.鈥�

But Francine grew up in the era of increasingly easy-to-get credit, and that led to 13 cards and no self-control. 鈥淚t just got easier and easier,鈥� she says.

Her own children 鈥� a 42-year-old son and a 36-year-old daughter 鈥� have learned from both her mistakes and her advice. Still, 鈥淥ne of them I鈥檓 a little concerned about, but the other one doesn鈥檛 want to go where his mother has been.鈥�

She prays her three grandchildren and one great-grandchild fare better financially. Her hope? 鈥淭hey start teaching this stuff in high school,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when they need to learn鈥� what she didn鈥檛.

Credit counseling is easy 鈥� and hard

For a long time, Francine knew she was in trouble but did nothing about it.

鈥淚 was not sleeping, trying to figure out how I was going to pay my bills,鈥� she says. 鈥淥ne morning, I just said, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this anymore,鈥� and called.鈥�

She knew credit counseling could help 鈥� and she had learned from her research to be wary of for-profit counseling services but to seek out nonprofits.

She settled on HCCI, a member of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. NFCC was founded in 1951 and is the nation鈥檚 largest and oldest national nonprofit credit counseling association.

鈥淚 thought I was going to feel really stupid going in there,鈥� Francine says. 鈥淏ut when I came out of my first meeting, I felt like weight had been lifted.鈥�

It wasn鈥檛 easy, though. The hardest part was walking into a meeting with 鈥渁 big fat folder鈥� of all her bills. 鈥淵ou have to admit there鈥檚 a problem,鈥� Francine says.

Then you have to get to work. The counselor urged Francine and Jim to draw up a budget. It took three tries to get it right.

鈥淲e had to keep coming back because I wasn鈥檛 realizing I needed to give up 100 channels on my cable,鈥� she says, 鈥渆specially when I was only watching four. I didn鈥檛 quite understand the concept.鈥�

Even worse, 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know how much debt I had 鈥� because I didn鈥檛 want to know.鈥� She wouldn鈥檛 let the counselor tell her, either. Instead, the counselor wrote it on a piece of paper, and Francine looked at it when she got home.

Saving is hard 鈥� and easy

And then, somehow, it just clicked. Francine started saving and budgeting 鈥� and as mysteriously as her debt accumulated, it began to disappear. Of course, her success was no mystery to her credit counselor.

鈥淭he remarkable thing about the Bosticks is their total commitment to repay their debts,鈥� says Bob Mackey, president of HCCI. 鈥淔or five years, they worked second jobs, lived on a very lean budget, and paid $2,496 each month toward their debt repayment plan.鈥�

That鈥檚 right 鈥� Francine went from 鈥渂uying a new purse for $120 when I could鈥檝e got it for $60鈥� to working four hours a night for four nights a week for her local school district 鈥� as a janitor. On the weekends, she ran an Avon business. Meanwhile, even though his dementia was slowly taking over, Jim worked 30 hours per week delivering auto parts.

While they were both busy and exhausted from the extra work, they were also too busy to spend more money.

鈥淒uring those five years, I got used to buying just what we needed,鈥� Francine says. Another one of her novel tactics: 鈥淚f something costs over $50, we鈥檇 go home and think about it for a few days. Lots of times, we never went back for it.鈥�

And then, miraculously, it got easier.

Francine is happier than she鈥檚 ever been, and she insists her standard of living hasn鈥檛 diminished 鈥� much.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 go out to eat as often as we used to,鈥� she says. But she savors the experience more now.

And, she says, 鈥淵ou have to have a little splurge.鈥� For her, it鈥檚 purses. But now, she never spends more than $50.

The happy ending

With her debt wiped out and a modest savings account, Francine knows she needs to rebuild her credit 鈥� and ironically, credit cards are the easiest way to do that. She also knows they have聽other advantages. So she recently got a cash-back card. But she鈥檚 a little nervous about sliding back into old habits.

鈥淚鈥檝e been using it like a debit card,鈥� she says. 鈥淓very time I buy something, I automatically deduct it from my checkbook.鈥�

So what happens now? She doesn鈥檛 know. But she knows this much: 鈥淚 was afraid because I didn鈥檛 want to have to work till I鈥檓 80.鈥� Now she knows she won鈥檛 have to.

Michael Koretzky is a writer for聽, a consumer/personal finance TV news feature that airs in about 80 cities as well as around the Web. This column first appeared in Money Talks News.